You can sew (and still have fingers left!)You don’t need to sew perfectly to create great costumes, but it sure helps toknow the basics. If you haven’t done much sewing before, don’t worry! Thischapter can help you get started.Essential equipmentAlthough you can sew with just a needle and thread, I highly recommendhaving access to tools like these:for removing stray stitches and icky seams) must Seam ripper (an absolute ✄Measuring tape (the soft, flexible kind works best) ✄Sharp scissors, preferably used only for sewing (paper dulls scissors rapidly) ✄Straight pins, small to medium sized ✄Sturdy thread (very cheap thread tends to break and jam your machine) ✄Words t o know— your fabric’s right side ✁best looking side— distance seam allowance ✁between seam and edge offabric (usually 1/4”)— part of sewing presser foot ✁machine that holds fabric inplace while the “feed dogs”pull it through (must belowered in order to sew)— the most seam ripper ✁important sewing tool!Basic sewing steps15Cardboard measuring mat (not absolutely essential, ✄but very handy)Iron (and a place to iron—you can buy very small ✄ironing boards that work on any flat surface)Sewing machine (as discussed below) ✄Sewing machinesUnless you’re an expert handsewer, I recommend gettinga sewing machine. They’re fast, they do a good job, andthey’re easy to use. You don’t need anything fancy—aslong as it does straight stitching of adjustable lengths andruns decently, it’ll do. Decorative stitches and zig-zagscan be useful but they’re not necessary. Many sewingmachine stores sell inexpensive used models, and you canalways trade up if you ever want a better machine. Becareful, however, about getting a machine that betraysyou at every other stitch. The machine should runsmoothly and without jamming, producing steady, evenstitches. Run a test scrap and scrutinize the stitchescarefully to make sure they’re all the same length.Since every machine is different, you need to check themanual to see how to wind bobbins and thread it. Mostmachines have a veritable gauntlet of gadgets (mine hasseven) the thread must pass through before reaching theneedle. If yours doesn’t come with a manual and you’vegotten tangled up trying, ask the people where youbought it or the people at your local fabric store for help. Basic sewing steps16IMPORTANT first stepsright sides As a general rule, you need to sew your fabricThe right side is the one you want facing out together .when the costume is finished. It’s usually brighter, shinier,more finely printed, or just plain better looking than itsopposite, the wrong side. (If try as you may, you can’t tellthe difference between sides, you’re probably pretty safe inassuming it doesn’t matter for that particular fabric.) Bysewing fabric right sides together, you can turn the piecesright side out when you’re done sewing, leaving thestitching and untidy ends inside the costume where theywon’t show.The distance between the stitches and the edge of the fabricis called seam allowance. One fourth of an inch (1/4”) is thestandard seam allowance for all the costumes in this book, andfor most small costumes in general (5/8” is standard forhuman-sized clothes). This not only affects how far from theedge you sew, but the way you cut your fabric. You alwaysneed to make sure each of your costume pieces includes anextra 1/4” all the way around to get eaten up by the seamallowance. Having a sufficient amount of seam allowance is critical to thelongevity of your costumes, since seams sewn too close to the edge are not onlydifficult to create, but liable to come apart at the most inconvenient moments.Last of all, there’s very little sewing that can’t be redone. Keep your seam ripperhandy and try it again (and again). So watch your fingers and start stitching!When your machine wants toquit working before you doRethread the machine ✁completely (top and bottom)Look for anything in the ✁bobbin area that may bejamming things up. Brokenneedles, pins, and even lintbuild-up can prevent smoothoperation. (Because of this, tryto avoid sewing over pinswhenever you can.) Thenrethread the machine.Replace the needle and ✁rethread the machineIf all else fails, start looking forrepair shops. (I can usually get my10-year-old machine to behavejust by waving a trade-in couponin front of it a few times.) Areputable, friendly repair shop isan absolutely invaluable resource(if you have the good fortune tofind one). Did I mention youshould rethread the machine?Basic sewing steps17Start stitching!Since straight seams are the easiest to sew…1. Get a fabric scrap (or a paper towel) and fold it in half right sides together.2. Place your scrap in the machine so that the unfolded edgesline up with the edge of the presser foot (this createsapproximately 1/4” seam allowance).3. Turn the wheel on the side of your machine towards youto lower the needle into the scrap.4. Next, put the presser foot down (there’s usually a little lever for this). Thepresser foot must be down whenever you stitch. This allows the material toautomatically feed through evenly—you should never have to push it. Youonly need to gently guide it through.5. Press the foot pedal to stitch forward a few stitches, then stop.6. Press the “reverse” level or button to stitch backwards afew stitches. This is the machine equivalent of tying a knotand will hold your stitches in place.Key to illustrationsfoot up, needle up ✁foot up, needle down ✁foot down, needle up ✁foot down, needle down ✁Some machines come with severalchangeable feet, each with adifferent purpose. A zipper footis one of the most common (andmost useful)! I still don’t knowwhat most of the feet on mymachine are for, so don’t worry ifyou don’t have a lot of them.Basic sewing steps187. Continue stitching forward until you get to the endof the fabric. Reverse for a few stitches again, thenstitch forward off the end of the fabric.8. Raise the needle to its highest position. This preventsit from becoming unthreaded.9. Raise the presser foot and remove the fabric fromyour machine.10. Cut off the extra threads hanging from the fabric sothey don’t get in the way later.You did it! Look at that lovely seam! Turn your scrapright side out to admire it fully. If you can do that (plus afew more tricks explained shortly), you can sew thecostumes in this book!If your seams don’t come out right (and this happens toeveryone, beginner or expert), you can always use a seamripper to tear them out and try again. That’s the beautyof sewing.Up (and down) on the cornerOf course, you would have a difficult time costuming ifyou could only sew straight seams.1. When you come within 1/4” of a sharp turn, lowerthe needle into the fabric, then raise the presser foot.Basic sewing steps192. Pivot the fabric to the left. Since you have the needlelowered, you won’t lose your place in the stitching.3. Line the fabric up with the edge of the presser footagain, then lower the presser foot.4. Continue stitching merrily as usual!Rounding curvesand watch your fingers. For slowly Approach curvesgentle curves, that’s all the advice you need. For morerambunctious curves, you need to make lots of littlestops and pivots (not huge changes in direction). (Youmay also want to shorten the stitch length.)Whenever you feel the fabric becoming hard to steer,lower the needle, raise the foot, pivot the fabric just alittle, then lower the presser foot again and continuesewing. Keep repeating this until you’re back on thestraight away.Once you’ve completed yourcurved seam, you may need to snipthe seam allowance here and thereto make the costume easier to turnright side out (just be careful not to snip the seam…)Basic sewing steps20.Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2011/05/basic-sewing-steps.htmlVisit Lifestyle Arts for daily updated images of art collection